2017-18 Board

More information about our board members and their positions below.

Jessica Koch - Chapter Director

Jessica Koch has worked as a music director in the Archdiocese of Chicago since 2002, and currently holds the position of Director of Music Ministries at St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a piano performance concentration from Saint Xavier University and a Master of Music Education degree with a choral emphasis from VanderCook College of Music where she also served as Graduate Choral Assistant and Adjunct Professor. Jessica is an active composer and arranger of liturgical music, and she enjoys working with other choirs and directors as a clinician and guest conductor. She specializes in rehearsal techniques for eliciting professional sound from the amateur choir.

info@npmchicago.org

Keith Kalemba - Assistant Chapter Director

Born and raised in New Jersey, Keith's first experience of Catholic music ministry was as choir director for the Temple University Newman Center for four years. He was a delegate to the 1994 World Youth Day celebration in Rome, at which he represented the Catholic Campus Ministry Association. After moving to Illinois, Keith was director of the contemporary choir at St. Luke's Church in River Forest for three years. Keith joined the editorial staff at World Library Publications in 2001. As a music editor, his responsibilities include editing of octavos, songbooks, and instrumental music. He lends his production and performance skills to various WLP recordings. Co-founder and artistic director of Oak Park’s Ensemble Modus Operandi, Keith's performance skills range from piano to percussion. He received both his Bachelor of Music in Composition and Master of Music in Composition from Temple University. His sacred compositions are published by World Library Publications. He is on the music staffs of both his parish, Ascension Church in Oak Park, and St. John of the Cross in Western Springs. He has served on the faculty of the Liturgical Music Institute in Huntington, New York. He has been a member of NPM since 2001 and has presented workshops at several national conventions. Keith lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife and three children.

Michele Farmer - Programming Coordinator

Mrs. Farmer is a native of the Archdiocese of Chicago, baptized at St. Edward’s parish, grammar school education at St. John Brebeuf School in Niles where she began to play the organ for liturgy in fourth grade. By the time she graduated from St. Louise de Marillac High School, Mrs. Farmer was playing the organ, guitar, and singing at as many as three Masses per weekend at St. John’s. She played violin in the Marillac orchestra, as well as piano and violin for pit orchestra at shows at Marillac, Notre Dame and Loyola Academy. She learned choral and instrumental arranging (in the days when all was written by hand on staff paper) at the knee of band directors and professional players who would donate their services to the “Festival” fundraising performances held each winter at St. John Brebeuf, eventually acting as Musical Director for some of these shows while still in college.

With an eye toward a career in piano performance, Mrs. Farmer attended Northwestern University on a full scholarship. As an entering freshman, she won the prestigious Eckstein Award in Piano Performance, and along with several of the winners in the string category, enjoyed working on chamber music under the tutelage of members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on faculty at Northwestern at that time.

She was also in demand for recitals as winner of scholarships from local women’s groups such as the Glencoe Women’s Library Club, the Evanston Women’s Club, and the Society of American Musicians Senior Piano Competition. Her ability as an accompanist was well respected, and she has continued throughout her life to work steadily as a pianist for recital performances of instrumentalists and singers in all genres; classical, sacred, the American songbook, and especially in recent years in support of young high school and college students.

While Michele opted after two years to trade her dream of a degree in Piano Performance for the life of a wife, a banking career and eventual motherhood, she was never far from those early days in church music.

Within six years of leaving Northwestern, she had her first paying church job, and as she and husband Randy saw their family expand and financial needs increase, so did her opportunities to contribute by accepting increasing responsibility in music ministry. She has served at Mater Christi parish in North Riverside, at Community Methodist Church in Brookfield, as a sub at St. Juliana Parish in Chicago, St. James in Highwood and several Protestant churches in the suburbs. Beginning in 1986, Michele has held Director of Music Ministry positions at St. Joan of Arc in Evanston, Our Lady of Ransom in Niles, and for nearly eight years at Addolorata Villa Retirement Community in Wheeling. Since November of 2000, Mrs. Farmer has led Music Ministry at St. Mary of Vernon Parish in Indian Creek.

She and husband Randy Farmer reside in Mundelein, and are beginning their 40th year of marriage. They are the parents of five children, grandparents of four. They have seen the gift of music continue to the next generation, as two of their children have gone on to teach music, at Mundelein High School, and at Old St. Mary’s in Chicago

Michele has been a proud member of NPM since 1987.

Michael Ward - Communications Coordinator

Michael Ward currently serves as the Director of Music and Liturgy for St. Norbert and Our Lady of the Brook in Northbrook, IL. He has a B.A. in Music Education from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI and is currently pursuing his M.A. in Pastoral Liturgy and Music at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, IN. At St. Norbert and Our Lady of the Brook, some of his responsibilities include directing the Adult Choir, Children's Choir, and Teen Mass Ensemble while also overseeing the Liturgy Team and Bereavement Ministry for the parish. Michael has been behind some of the first ministries uniting from both St. Norbert and Our Lady of the Brook to serve the needs of all parishioners in the combined Catholic Community of Northbrook. Having been involved in Catholic music ministries since the 8th grade, Michael blends his experiences from all over the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee into his style of music ministry today.

info@npmchicago.org

Jim Harrold - Treasurer

Jim Harrold is the Music Director of St. Louise de Marillac Parish in La Grange Park. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the Eastman School of Music and is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he majored in classical piano and composition. He has previously served as the Music Director of Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Jersey City, NJ; the Liturgical Choir Director of St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, NJ; and the leader of a jazz quartet that performed in New York City and the surrounding area. He is skilled in composition, arranging, conducting, classical and jazz piano, voice, and organ.

Wendy Silhavy - Office of Divine Worship Liaison

Wendy Barton Silhavy is the Senior coordinator for Liturgy and Music in the Office for Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Chicago. She received her BM in Church music from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and her MA in Liturgical Music from St. John’s University, Collegeville. She brings 25 years of experience in parish, seminary, and diocesan liturgy to her work with the archdiocese. Wendy is a pianist, organist, flutist, choral conductor, and cantor. Her interests in liturgy include the relationship between liturgy and catechesis and the impact of liturgy on our everyday lives. A native of Minnesota, she currently resides in Berwyn, Illinois.

wsilhavy@archchicago.org

Linda Cerebona - Mundelein Seminary Liaison

LINDA M. CERABONA, MUS, MA, is the Director of Music and Organist of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts with a Professional Concentration in Roman Catholic Music; De Paul University, Chicago. Organist, pianist, and choir directorsince 1967serving in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet(1968-2005). Producer of two compact discs for Mundelein Seminary: Cantate Domino/Sing to the Lord (Diaconate Ordination 2008) Venite Adoremus Dominum (Christmas 2010).Co-authored “Praise God with Full Voice; Sacred Music, Mundelein Seminary, and the Global Church” The Bridge; Winter/Spring 2011. Co-authored “Remembering Father Richard J. Wojcik”, The Bridge; Spring/Summer 2013. Founding member and advisor for the Joliet Chapter of the NationalAssociation of Pastoral Musicians (2002). Member of American Guild of Organists Hospitality Committee for National AGO Convention in Chicago (the summer of 2006); Chicago Theater Organ Enthusiasts (CATOE); Ex officio member of the Office for Divine Worship for the Archdiocese of Chicago; Mundelein Sacred Music Exhibit Committee 2007; Mundelein Mission and Culture--Seminarian and Faculty Committee, 2008-2013. Coordinator of the Acquisition, installation, Blessing and Dedicationof E. M. Skinner Organ, Opus 621 (1926) for the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, 2012-2014, and the Cardinal Mundelein Wurlitzer Theater Organ console restoration and Rededication, 2011-2014.

Rev. Bradley A. Zamora - Clergy Liaison

B.A. in Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago. S.T.B., University of Saint Mary of the Lake. M.Div., University of Saint Mary of the Lake. Director of Liturgy and Instructor in the Department of Liturgy and Music (2015-present) University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. Associate Pastor and Director of Liturgy (2014-2017) Holy Name Cathedral. Coordinator, Nightfever Chicago (2013-present). Former Director of Music, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 2005-2007. Former Choir Director and Organist, St. Barbara Catholic Church, 2006-2008. Member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Member of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Associate Member of the Patron of the Arts in Vatican Museums.

Steven Betancourt is the Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at Loyola University Chicago. In this role he oversees the administration of Madonna della Strada Chapel and is the Director of Music for the chapel. He directs the Morning Choir, Schola Cantorum, teaches applied organ and plays for all liturgies in the chapel. Steven leads the weekly Evening Prayer in the style of Taizé and coordinates the student lead Evening Ensemble THE9. He is a resource to campus partners for liturgical music needs. Steven grew up in Norwalk, California and moved to Chicago in 2000.

Steven is the Dean of the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and a consultant to The American Federation Pueri Cantores. Steven earned his B.A. in music education from Whittier College in California studying with Dr. Frances Nobert and David McVey. His M.M. from Indiana University-Bloomington was a double-major program in organ performance and church music. His teachers at Indiana included: Drs. Larry Smith, Carla Edwards and Marilyn Keiser.

Steven’s interests in his free time include summer beach volleyball, opera, French language and culture, exploring the great city of Chicago by “L” and his beloved Boston Terrier, Bailey Buttons.

Larry VanMersbergen - Publisher Liaison (World Library Publications)

Larry is a native to Chicagoland and has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Illinois State University and a Master of Education degree from National Louis University. Most recently Larry was the orchestra director for NorthbookDistrict 30 and has served on the faculties of Duquesne University and VanderCook College of Music. Larry has served as a consultant for advertising and marketing companies in the west suburbs with a focus on social media marketing. His experience in his home parish of St. Anne Catholic Church in Oswego includes playing guitar in the Heart of Worship contemporary group for more than 20 years. Larry has extensive knowledge of Catholic music. He is a member of ASCAP and has music published for guitar and orchestras.

Patricia Stewart - Vicariate I Representative

Edward Eicker - Vicariate II Representative

Edward Eicker is a composer of choral and instrumental music for both small and large ensembles. He holds an M.A. in Music Composition (2002) and a B.M in Music Education and Organ Performance (1999) from Roosevelt University. His principal teachers have included organists, David Schrader and Samuel Soria and composers, Stacy Garrop and Patricia Morehead.

Ed has received several awards, including being named a finalist in the 2007 "Outside the Bachs" Choral Composition Contest. Most recently, he was one of twelve winners in the "2012 Indie Gathering International Film Scoring Competition."

Many of Ed's published compositions are the result of commissions from choirs, churches, publishing companies, and instrumental ensembles. Recent commissions have come from Cube Ensemble, Immaculate Conception and St. Paul of the Cross Churches in the Chicagoland area, and World Library Publications. His most popular organ works include Just a Minute, a suite of miniatures for organ, and it's sequel, Just (A)nother Minute. His other organ and choral music is published by several leading publishing companies.

Ed currently serves as Organist and Choir Director at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge, IL. He resides in Des Plaines, a suburb of Chicago, with his wife Megan, and two young boys, Austin and Owen.

Mark Scozzafave - Vicariate III Representative

Mark Scozzafave is the Associate Director of Music at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago and an IT consulting professional with a global technology company. He has extensive background in pastoral music and is an active pianist, composer, and arranger. Mark earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame with a major in Music Theory and Composition and more recently completed a Master's of Music Theory and Cognition at Northwestern University. Originally from Lansing, MI, Mark and his wife Aimee have lived and worked in Chicago since 2003.

Vicariate IV Representative - Vacant

Siobhan Maguire - Vicariate V Representative

Siobhan Maguire has been an employee of the Archdiocese of Chicago since 1994: Saint Victor, Calumet City (Vicariate VI); Saint Mary, Riverside (Vicariate IV); Saint Hubert, Hoffman Estates (Vicariate I); Saint Julie Billiart, Tinley Park (Vicariate V). She has been a member of Music Staff for the Archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship since 1996 (Cantor Schools, Cantor Days, Choir Festivals, Children’s Choir Festivals, Festivals of Faith, Millenium Mass at Soldier Field Corpus Christi 2000). For NPM, she has been an adjudicator for cantor certification. She holds a master’s degree in vocal pedagogy from the University of Texas-Austin.